anndoeshorror

[anndoeshorror]

Time once again for zombie movie Sunday (aka Easter) where we celebrate those who rise from the dead! On deck:

Train to Busan — favorite zombie movie and among my favorite movies ever, top 20 for sure.

Shaun of the Dead — one of my favorite horror comedies (although the Nick Frost HP casting news has really soured me on him…)

Night of the Living Dead (1968) — Thee movie that started it all

Recommendations for excellent movies in this genre are always welcome! (Lesser known ones are good, I think I’ve seen all the big names).

[anndoeshorror]

I Saw the Devil (part 2)

As in, part 2 of my review, because I feel like I had a revelation earlier that kind of upped my appreciation for the movie and I need to sort out my thoughts on it. Spoilers:

So early in the movie, there was a point where I looked to my kid who was watching with me, and I said “oh it’s a comedy”. It was when Joo-yun’s head was discovered, and they like put it in a box to bring it up out of the water and presumably to the morgue or whatever, and the dude carrying the box like trips, kinda, and drops it. Idk if I’m doing it justice by describing it but it was like slapstick almost.

Now, like obviously any horror movie fans we have our like obligatory there’s a head in a box “what’s in the box?” moment, and I was like huh cute shoutout to Se7en, maybe.

So earlier today we were joking about this scene and joking about Se7en (my kid had a surprisingly strong hatred for Gwyneth Paltrow considering most teens probably don’t think about her very much lol) so she actually though it was quite funny when her head was in the box too. And wait a minute… idk if I even mentioned this in my review but Joo-yun… wait for it… was pregnant. She literally begs her killer not to kill her because she’s pregnant. And. Soo-hyeun didn’t know she was pregnant, he finds out from the killer.

And it’s like. Logically, as I’m watching it, I’m aware these are parallels to Se7en (and a handful of other movies too, “please don’t kill me I’m pregnant” is common enough) but I’m not going anywhere with those parallels other than saying “oh neat”.

But like. I Saw the Devil is the last 10 minutes of Se7en in feature length. Soo-hyeun is Mills. Soo-hyeun became wrath. Not quick bullshit wrath, like Mills… but lengthy, stupid, inefficient wrath.

And tbh, that’s one thing that always kinda bothered me about Se7en. Wrath isn’t gonna shoot you in the head and kill you instantly. Wrath isn’t like this quick little efficient thing. It’s a deadly sin for a reason. It screws with you, it messes up your life, it destroys everyone around you. It isn’t rash, it’s not shooting one person in the heat of the moment, it’s anger so irrational that you do… what Soo-hyeun did.

I think Kim and Park saw what Fincher and Walker got wrong about wrath and gave us a two and a half hour long example. They said look, this is wrath. This is why wrath (and not anger or vengeance or murder) is a deadly sin. Because it destroys everything.

Mills shot the killer, he ended one life and “ruined” his own (although let’s be real I’m sure he didn’t get life in prison for that).

Soo-hyuen killed the killer, eventually. But also, his father in law almost died, sister in law did die, the killer’s parents and child were traumatized for life, and numerous other innocent people along the way were killed or traumatized.

We saw the deadly sin, from its inception, all the way through to its inevitable destructive end, in full, lengthy, unflinching detail. We saw the devil. I’m actually kinda obsessed.

[anndoeshorror]

I Saw the Devil

Man, as I said below, this had been on my "to watch" list for a while. I have so many conflicting thoughts about this movie, to be honest, I don't think I'll ever have a fully formed, final decision but I'm going to try to get my thoughts out!

The premise is simple enough, standard revenge horror. NIS agent Soo-hyeun's fiance, Joo-yun, is kidnapped/raped/murdered by serial killer Jang Kyung-chul (brilliantly acted by Choi Min-sik of Oldboy fame). Joo-yun's dad happens to be a police chief and gets the inside scoop on some key suspects in the case. Cue Soo-hyeun going on an absolutely murderous rampage to get revenge, right? Except not totally right, because he doesn't seem super interested in killing anyone.

Soo-hyeun quickly narrows the suspect list down and identifies Kyung-chol as the killer, but instead of, you know, killing him or turning him in or something smart, he decides he wants to play a catch-and-release torture game. He wants to capture him, let him go, and hunt him down again and again. For funsies. SHOCKINGLY this doesn't really go well.

Spoilers under the cut.

Entertaining: 8/10 Scary: 1/10-- not the kind of horror movie that's "scary" Gory: 5/10-- moderate gore, I've seen this on a lot of "most brutal movies" lists so I had expected more but it's pretty middle of the road.

Common triggers: Rape, cannibalism

(I know I rated it an 8/10 for entertaining, which is true, so I guess I did like it, in the end. It was funny, for one thing, which I didn't expect, and the ridiculousness of some of the laughs was a nice contrast to the bleakness of the plot.)

So of course, our protagonist's (stupid) plan doesn't always go his way. He plants a tracker on Kyung-chol after tracking him down the first time, which was smart I suppose, and he follows him from place to place waiting to catch and release again. In Kyung-chol's travels, though, he's literally killing people, sexually assaulting people, and Soo-hyeun knows this and kinda... doesn't care? Like he comes to the rescue of a few women but like, not until after they've been assaulted? And I *know* the movie does this on purpose because it's important to the central theme but it's like. Infuriating.

Kyung-chol manages to get rid of the tracker fairly early on. He's ALSO is able to identify who Soo-hyeun is, by recognizing his wedding band which matched Joo-yun's. (this confused me bc I didn't think they were married... but maybe he was just wearing the ring cause he already had it? I may have missed something there). He tells Soo-hyeun he knows who he is, and you're thinking, hey, Soo-hyeun, maybe contact your dead fiance's dad and sister (Se-yun) and give them a head's up that you pissed off a serial killer and he knows who they all are? But nah. Not right away anyway.

So of course. of course, Kyung-chol gets to dad and Se-yun first. And sweet Se-yun, who like warned and begged Soo-hyeun to cut his stupid revenge bullshit, also ends up dead. Christ.

Finally we get to the ultimate showdown back at Kyung-chol's home, where Soo-hyeun straps him to a makeshift guillotine triggered by opening the door to the cellar he's in, and invites Kyung-chol's estranged parents and son over. The family ultimately opens the door and triggers his death while Soo-hyeun listens. Fin.

I Saw the Devil is an existential exploration of evil, revenge, and virtue and commentary on the moral decay even the most virtuous of us can experience when driven by vengeance. "Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster" and "gaze long enough into the abyss and the abyss gazes back" and all that. The Devil isn't Kyung-chol. The Devil is what happens to Soo-hyeun. That's a theme I can appreciate.

For me, though, Soo-hyeun's descent into becoming a monster felt unearned. Yes, his fiance was murdered, but the revenge quest just didn't feel long enough or intense enough for his flip-switch change. It wasn't gradual, he didn't slowly become more corrupted the longer it went on, and given the runtime (over 2 hours) it could have happened that way.

Finally, the suspension of disbelief when it comes to the injuries the characters sustain really pushed the limit for this type of movie. Hit in the head multiple times with a hammer but still alive? Severed Achilles tendon but still walking around fine most of the movie?

Again, though, I did enjoy watching it, which is basically what I want out of a movie. Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik were both stellar in their roles, and despite how ridiculous a lot of the plot points were, I did buy the emotions they were giving throughout.

I Saw the Devil was directed by Kim Jee-woon and written by Park Hoon-jung, and released in 2010.

[anndoeshorror]

Watched it last night. Compiling full impression but initial thoughts:

Puffer jacket buttoned up to the TOP (a slay tbh)

The men in this movie like literally could not die? It was giving Frederick Chilton.

Soo-hyeun consistently not showing up in time to stop rape and murder bc he didn’t care about that

Not even a quarter as brutal as I’d expected based on what I’d seen said/written about it. Why are people putting this on the same level as irreversible and bone tomahawk.

Lee Byung-hun is really good at crying.

Se-yunnnnn 😭

Actually legitimately funny, I laughed a lot. Idk if that was the intention or if that says smth about me but…

🔵me when I randomly learn fine ass Lee Byung-hun is actually the main guy in I Saw the Devil but I haven’t ever watched it or any trailers, just seen people talk about it on Reddit and etc, so I didn’t know.

⚫️my daughter who’s been telling me how hot he is since s2018😭

[anndoeshorror]

🔵me when I randomly learn fine ass Lee Byung-hun is actually the main guy in I Saw the Devil but I haven’t ever watched it or any trailers, just seen people talk about it on Reddit and etc, so I didn’t know.

⚫️my daughter who’s been telling me how hot he is since s2018😭

[anndoeshorror]

Finally watched Paranormal Activity and I gotta say I think the demon may have just been trying to help Katie ditch her crummy man.

[anndoeshorror]

Fall

You know that meta-horror movie trope where the viewer is watching a particularly scary or gory movie and they have to put their hands over their eyes and peak out at the screen through the tiny gap between their fingers? Yeah, that was me with this movie. 

I don’t have a fear of heights, per se. I’m fine with flying. I’ve been parasailing a bunch of times and love it. Roller coasters don’t phase me. The only time I’m bothered by elevators in tall buildings is when they’re overcrowded. I don’t know if there’s a word for it, but tall, open air, structures? Bridges? Those window cleaning scaffolds on skyscrapers? And this fucking broadcast tower in the movie Fall? Yeah, if there’s a name for fear of those things, I have it. Thosethingsphobia. 

So that said, I knew going into this movie that it was going to make me pretty uncomfortable. It’s hard to classify this movie- it’s mostly thriller/suspense, but it has horror elements enough that I think I can say that it belongs on this blog. 

Fall is pretty minimal, and I love that about it. Most of the film is limited to two characters, friends Becky and Hunter, and one location, a tiny platform 2000 feet in the air. Becky, who watched her husband die in a rock climbing accident a year earlier, is struggling to move on with her life. Hunter, who was also witness to the accident, shows up as the one year anniversary nears, to try to snap Becky out of her depression and regain her love of life (and of climbing tall things, apparently). Hunter’s fab idea? A rusty, decades old TV tower in the middle of nowhere. What could go wrong?

The team make it up the tower, and we have some really stunning (and anxiety inducing) cinematography. We also have some ominous close ups on rattling nuts and bolts that affix the ladder they’re climbing to the tower. After some daring selfie stunts, they embark on their climb back down, only to have 200 feet of ladder disconnect from the tower and fall away. With no way down, the two women make multiple unsuccessful attempts to signal for help from their tiny 2000 foot perch. With no phone signal at the top, Hunter tries to draft an instagram plea for help, stuffs her phone in her shoe for protection, and then tosses it off the platform in the hope that it will pick up a cellular signal on the way down and her message will get out. 24 hours later with no rescuers, they realize their plan was unsuccessful. As the days pass, the situation becomes more dire and their attempts more desperate. More details and spoilers under the cut!

Entertaining: 8/10

Scary: 11/10 if you have a fear of heights/tall structures/falling/etc, otherwise 2/10.

Gory: 2/10

Common triggers: heights, falling, tall structures, implied suicidal ideation, mild gore, dive-bombing birds of prey

There’s quite a bit of suspension of disbelief that you need to employ while watching this, but as horror fans, I think we're used to that and I didn’t mind at all. Amid all the climbing, jumping, hanging on for dear life, and stunning physical feats, the most unbelievable thing for me was that Becky’s phone battery remained charged throughout the whole ordeal. Several days of checking for a signal, using the flashlight, and reminiscing while watching old videos saved to her phone. I’m willing to wave away this and other “plot holes”, given the ridiculous premise we started out with. I’m here for scares, not realism.

The biggest twist, and one that I truly did not see coming, is that Hunter dies about 2/3 through the movie. After repelling down on their 50 foot rope to grab their backpack of supplies that has been resting on a small satellite dish below them, Hunter slips while climbing back up. She somehow miraculously manages to grab hold of the backpack (still attached to the rope), and Becky is able to pull her back up to the platform. Or so we think. 

They share the water from the bag, and pull out Hunter’s drone that they attach a note to and try to fly down to the road below for help. The drone plan fails, and they’re left with Becky’s phone as the only possible way to contact someone. She decides to try one more time to toss a phone off the tower, hoping an unsent text to her dad will finally send on the way down. She asks Hunter for her other shoe, but Hunter replies that she can’t give it to her. Because it’s not on the platform, is it? It’s down there on the satellite dish, with Hunter’s dead body. It has been since she slipped and cracked her skull retrieving the backpack. 

 So Becky’s alone, hallucinating, being stalked by a vulture, and all but given up. Will Becky find her strength, have her alpha predator moment, and get herself rescued? I mean of course, that’s the whole point here. She’s got to get over her dead, cheating husband (oh, Hunter had an affair with Becky’s husband, lmao) and move on with her life stronger and more traumatized than ever. Hashtag Goals, am I right?

This movie was ridiculous and about 20 minutes too long, but it was also visually stunning and very specifically terrifying (for me) so all in all, I liked it. I’d recommend watching unless you have a severe phobia of heights, or on the flip side, you find heights dull and boring. 

Interesting tidbit: the movie is PG-13, it got this rating by replacing the word “fuck”, originally said like over 30 times, by using digital deepfake editing. I did find it dumb that a person in that situation would say “freaking” when clearly a “fucking” was warranted, but they ended up sneaking in one or two anyway. 

Fall was directed and co-written by Scott Mann and Jonathan Frank, it was filmed in 2022 in the Shadow Mountains of California's Mojave Desert.

[anndoeshorror]

Soft & Quiet (2022)

I’ve always said that I’m a fan of the horror genre, but the truth is, I just like scary movies. I want to be scared, terrified, frightened... not horrified. But there’s not really a sub-genre that encompasses “movies that are scary”, one- because any genre can be scary, and two- because we all have different thresholds of “scary”. 

I started seeing Soft & Quiet make the rounds among horror youtubers and tiktokers late last year, many of the reviews were light on details, they were of the “it’s better to go in blind” variety. I had a vague idea of the premise going in but that was all. I was a little dubious but the reviews generally seemed positive, several threw around superlatives like “best horror film of 2022″ and I figured what the heck, maybe there’s was a good opportunity for subverting expectations and all that jazz.

This movie is not scary in the “scary movie” sense. Which is fine, right? I mean even most scary movies aren’t really scary. (Are any of them really, truly scary at all?) Some horror fans want to be grossed out, others shocked, it’s all down to what feelings you want to experience during those 90 to 120 minutes of entertainment. So yeah, it’s not scary, it is horrifying. It’s a horror film in the purest and most technical of senses. Did I enjoy it? God no.

Some spoilers follow...

The set up is sinister, and I saw some potential in the first 20 minutes or so, but much of the movie just felt like trauma porn. Not extreme enough to be noteworthy trauma porn in a Serbian Film or Trauma (2017) kind of way, nor outlandish enough to be comical trauma porn in a The Sadness kind of way. Just plain old trauma.

I’m fully accepting that there’s nuance here that is beyond me, and that there’s something here that’s just not FOR me. The writer/director is a woman of color, and some of the film is bases on her own experiences (dear god). I would say that for some people, there’s going to be a backdrop of real life memories and trauma that will comingle with the terror of the film in a way that makes for a very different viewing experience, and I hesitate to critique in a way that may sound dismissive of those experiences. So to be clear, when I review any movie/book/etc, it’s based on my personal reaction and enjoyment. I’m no expert critic and I know very little about actual professional graduate level media analysis...

... but to me Soft & Quiet is... just about a bunch of racist white ladies who have some wine and then commit a hate crime. I’m not struck with any deeper meaning, and it doesn’t read as horror to me, anymore than a re-enactment of any other hate crime pulled from a newspaper or history book would. No twists and turns, no psychological exploration, no subverting of anything- just cold, hard, unflinching brutality. And maybe that’s the point? I’m sure there’s a thoughtful analysis out there that picks up everything I missed, and I may go searching for it.

Critics don’t agree with me, though, it seems this one is doing pretty well as far as I can tell, but for me it’s a massive thumbs down.

What it is: concise, extremely well shot, edited, and acted

What it isn’t: scary, especially original

Entertaining: 2/10

Scary: 0/10

Gory: 2/10

Common triggers: sexual assault, racism, sexism, antisemitism, homophobia, general white supremacy/nazi symbols and ideologies, mentions of infertility, alcohol

Soft & Quiet was written and directed by Beth de Araújo and filmed over 4 days

[anndoeshorror]

Skinamarink

Haven’t watched this one yet but—

Did anyone see this and love it? I feel like I’m being gaslit by all the glowing reviews and praise. Like, I watched Heck and thought the concept was good for a YouTube short, but an hour and forty minutes of that? I just don’t know.

Trying to think of the ideal viewing conditions to get the fullest, scariest effect. thoughts?

[anndoeshorror]

NOPE

Part horror, part sci-fi, part western. Jordan Peele’s newest production, Nope, presents compelling commentary on the nature of fame, celebrity, and spectacle, wrapped up in an entertaining and genre bending hit.

(The details of this movie were kept so vague and under wraps that saying anything at all about it feels like dropping spoilers, so general warning for spoilers ahead.)

The film centers on Siblings OJ and Emerald Haywood, who own and operate Haywood Hollywood Horses, their family ranch where horses are trained to perform in the entertainment industry. Early in the film, thousands of random objects rain from the sky, killing OJ and Em’s father in what was reported as a freak airplane dumping accident. Some time later, as OJ struggles to keep the family business afloat, he’s forced to sell some of their horses to Jupe, the child actor turned entrepreneur who owns a western theme park nearby.

Then one night, OJ notices something strange in the night sky over the ranch- something fast and oddly shaped that moves silently behind the clouds. The siblings are convinced they’re witnessing a UFO and hope to capture it on film for a chance at fame and fortune. What happens next leads us firmly into horror territory as the siblings and a few sidekicks risk their lives in an attempt to document (and take down) the mysterious creature they’ve nicknamed Jean Jacket.

I’ve been a fan of Peele’s for ages now, and while I don’t think Nope is quite makes it to the magical and lofty heights of both Get Out and Us, this film is still very entertaining and showcases his skill at both comedy and tension building thrills. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer (who I vaguely remembered from stuff my kid watched like Nickelodeon movies and Scream Queens) give stand out performances. Steven Yeun and Brandon Perea were both stellar in their supporting roles as well, and I’m hoping to see much more of them both on the big screen.

What it is: Beautifully shot, thought provoking, original, funny, entertaining.

What it isn’t: Scary

Entertaining: 8/10

Scary: 1/10

Gory: 3/10

Common triggers: animal cruelty/death, eye trauma, drug and alcohol use.

Side note: One of the scientific consultants on the film, marine biologist Kelsi Rutledge, was interviewed on the Science Friday podcast (9/2/2022, episode 1) where she discusses the inspiration for the design of Jean Jacket, and it’s definitely worth a listen. One thing that stood out to me is the fact that while he gave a lot of creative freedom on the design, Peele was adamant that it he creature have a square eye. Once you learn more about the creature, what it represents thematically, and how to avoid being killed be it, that little tidbit just further highlights Peele’s genius.

Nope was filmed in 2021-2022 and was written and directed by Jordan Peele. It is currently available for purchase on several streaming platforms including Prime, YouTube, and AppleTV.

[anndoeshorror]

I’m Thinking of Ending Things — Iain Reid

Just finished I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid. A few thoughts:

Based on book reviews, it’s pretty polarizing

I wish I hadn’t watched the Netflix adaptation first, although I don’t know if I would have liked the book more or less in that case

That said, the movie diverges a bit from the book toward the end, and it’s worth a watch for Toni Collette’s and David Thewlis’s great performances

Solid 6/10 for me, I liked it enough to check out some of Reid’s other titles

“My story is not like a movie, I’ll say. It’s not heart stopping or intense or blood curdling or graphic or violent. No jump scares. To me, these qualities aren’t usually scary. Something that disorients, that unsettles what’s taken for granted, something that disturbs and disrupts reality — that’s scary.”

This self-referential quote from the book is a pretty good description of everything I look for in the psychological thriller/horror genre in general. I’m Thinking of Ending Things doesn’t quite live up to it’s potential in achieving this, in my opinion, but it’s definitely along the right lines.

Mulholland Drive, Primer, and to some extent Cam, gave me similar vibes as far as unsettling and disturbing, although those first 2 I’d rate much higher.

Common triggers: Suicide/self harm

NB: I read via audiobook, the narration is excellent.

[anndoeshorror]

Creep 2 lacked so much of what made me like the first one. I need to organize my thoughts on these. Still worth a watch, though.

Just watched Creep and loved it! Will talk more about it once I watch Creep 2, but some seriously beautifully unsettling scenes.

[anndoeshorror]

Just watched Creep and loved it! Will talk more about it once I watch Creep 2, but some seriously beautifully unsettling scenes.

[anndoeshorror]

Controversial horror take: I watched the original Hideo Nakata Ringu last night and I don’t think it’s better than the American remake.

[anndoeshorror]

HOST (2020)

Easing into my first review with a short movie.

This movie is 56 minutes long and I must say that may be one of my favorite things about it, and not in a “thank god it’s over” kind of way. A lot of horror endings strike me as drawn out, over explained, and too damn long. This movie is exactly as long as it needs to be.

Host is a new take on the old accidental demon summoning theme, set against the backdrop of quarantine and zoom-hangout culture that sprung up in the early days of covid. That baseline layer of anxiety and isolation heightens the claustrophobic vibe of the movie by lending a secluded, middle-of-nowhere atmosphere to each character’s home. (And unrelated, but I just watched this for the first time now in 2022 and it really made me nostalgic for a simpler time with regard to the pandemic, which is a horror story in itself).

What it is: low budget horror, jump scares, concise, entertaining. 

What it isn’t: thought provoking, super original (despite the set up), gory, nightmare inducing

Basically, if you read bad reviews about this movie, they were probably entirely accurate in their criticisms. Would I recommend? Absolutely. I’d say ideal watching conditions would be with a group of friends or a family movie night, horror like this is more fun in a crowd. I was entertained, jumped a few times, and it had one or two tropes that I personally just really love (more on that under the cut).

Entertaining: 6.5/10

Scary: 4/10

Gory: 1/10

Common triggers: suicide/self harm, alcohol

Mild spoilers ahead:

The best thing about this movie is the stuff that’s not there. No longwinded demon backstory, no well lit or detailed closeups of whatever spooky thing is happening, no 25+ minute denouement to kill your fear-buzz after the climax, and no corny burn the bones/save the day moment. The characters fucked around, the characters found out. The end.

There were a few stand out scares for me, 1 in particular that involves a trope I personally just really enjoy, that makes use of goofy zoom filters to throw a face filter up where’s there’s (seemingly) no face- a technological “glitch” that never fails to give me goosebumps ever since that video of the snapchat dog filter “recognizing” a face that wasn’t there. And it could be a glitch, right? Right up until it turns to look directly at the character. Predictable? Yes. Fun? Also yes. 

Overall a short but delightfully solid film, for when you crave cheap thrills and want to be scared and laughing at the same time. The cinematic equivalent to your favorite snack sized bag of junk food.

Host was filmed in 2020 and was directed by Rob Savage. It is available for streaming on Shudder

[anndoeshorror]

Hi tumblr. Started this blog to help me track my quest for the scariest stories out there. I’ll be posting random thoughts, reviews, maybe gifs, who knows. Movies, shows, books. Not spoiler free but posts containing written spoilers with include them under a cut. Recommendations welcome.